...To what extent is there tension between Classical Liberals and Modern Liberals on equality? Ever since the breakdown of the feudal system, liberalism (coming from the latin liber, which translates as 'a class of free men') has since been implemented into society. Instead of being seen as just 'serfs' who had one purpose, people were now seen as individuals, which is the cornerstone of the liberalism ideology. Both classical and modern liberals believe that their differing opinions on the economy, the state, freedom and responsibility is in the best interest of the individual. Firstly, it's important to note that there are some places where both sets of Liberals agree on when it comes to the subject of equality. Both classical liberals and modern liberals do not think that individuals should have licence or absolute freedom since this would vastly encourage human's nature of being self-satisfying and egotistical creatures and would make life for everyone, in the words of Thomas Hobbes, “nasty, brutish and short”, since everyone would be vying with everyone else in society to fulfil their own needs. Instead, liberals believe that there should be a structure in place to defend people from their human nature, and we call this structure the state. However, classical Liberals and modern Liberals have different views on how much of a role the state should play. Classical Liberals believe that the state should have a very minimal role, only protecting the natural rights of...
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...governs best, however, in the early twentieth century it was necessary for the role of the government to expand for protection of liberty and fairness to continue. Under the motivation of President Franklin D Roosevelt, the ideas of government changed drastically from a rather distant relationship between the government and its people to one where executive power was used to meet the needs of the people. Consequently, almost every President, starting with Franklin D Roosevelt in 1933 to the present has slowly expanded the role of government to what we have today. The Federal Government as well as the Supreme Court changed its ideals increasingly about thoughts on interference in the lives of individuals as classical liberalism morphed into what is known as liberalism today. Through the onset of protective labor laws and the programs initiated by the New Deal a shift in the Democratic Party towards leftist ideals was recognized. With the United States emerging as a more industrialized nation, new laws were necessary to protect those subjugated to unsafe conditions, unfair wages and long work hours. In this change from a mostly agriculturally dominated society to a more industrialized one the development of a more dependent labor force was derived. These dependents were continually abused as the Supreme Court ignored disparities of the people in defense of an outdated interpretation of the Constitution. Employees’ right to work long hours and earn modest pay was considered a...
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...In Charles Larmore’s essay, he tries to illustrate the idea of political liberalism from board to narrow. Firstly he admits that liberalism is a controversial issue even between its adherents and adversaries, but that is not worthless to investigate. Larmore points out that there are two basic problems motivate us to continue research this project. The first one is we always try to seek the moral limits to the government. This is not just that provide rules to constrain the conduct of the rulers. More significant point is to find out the common goods that the government ought to promote and recognize. The second basic problem is that the increasing awareness that the reasonable people tend to differ and disagree about the nature of the good life. This is mainly focus on the reasonable disagreement about what good life should be, the example given by Larmore is religious wars. On the other hand, rather than the views hold by pluralists that who asserts there are many valid forms of human self-realisation, Larmore tends to think that there should be common values we would accept unanimously (e.g. we share certain views that what makes life worth living). Larmore claims the minimal moral conception can be devised political principles which expressing some idea of common goods. One of the methods can be able to describe the idea of that is using “neutrality”, which means that to be neutral with respect to controversial views. Larmore believes that different views of good life...
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...This essay will discuss some of the main topics covered during this week’s readings. This essay will discuss the steps that must be taken to make amendments to the United States Constitution, the reasons the ten amendments that make up the Bill of Rights were successfully added to the United States Constitution and why the Equal Rights Amendment was not added. This essay will also discuss what ideology is and the differences between liberalism and conservatism and will lastly outline the differences between Dual Federalism and Cooperative Federalism. Let’s first discuss what steps must be taken to amend the United States Constitution. In order to amend the United States Constitution the amendments may be proposed by the United States Congress or by a national convention assembled at the request of the legislatures of at least two-thirds of the several states (Bardes, Shelley, and Schmidt, 2012, pg. 53). Another method that can be used to make amendments to the United States Constitution is ratification, although this method in the past has rarely been used, but it can occur by two methods either by obtaining a positive vote of at least three-fourths of the legislatures of several states or by having special conventions called in the states and obtaining a positive vote in three-fourths of them (Bardes, Shelley, and Schmidt, 2012, pg. 53). Congress has considered more than eleven thousand amendments to the Constitution, but only thirty-three amendments were submitted to the...
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...challenging the existing assumptions about the nature of humankind and society. Modern liberalism developed around 1870 as a result of both philosophical and practical changes, including mass industrialisation. Classical liberals argue that modern liberalism has broken the principles of doctrines central to liberal thought whilst modern liberals claim that they are simply adapting and building on classical liberalist ideas. This essay will discuss the extent to which modern liberalism departs from classical liberalisms by analysing approaches to the size of the state, democracy and the concept of freedom and aims to justify the argument that modern liberalism departs considerably from classical liberalism. Modern liberalism departs from the ideas of classical liberalism with regards to the concept of freedom, although the extent of difference is limited. Isiah Berlin first discussed the concept of freedom in an essay published in 1958. Berlin proposed two concepts of liberty; positive, which is supported by modern liberalists, and negative, which is supported by classical liberals. The classical conception of negative liberty suggests that society is best when there is an absence of external restrictions or constraints on the individual. Therefore, classical liberals strongly supported full individual freedom. John Stuart Mill, a political philosopher known as the ‘father of classical liberalism’ argued that the government is controlling the actions of individuals for no reason...
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...Liberalism is a political doctrine that is based on the equality of people. A vast majority of liberal countries enjoy main freedoms that exist in the world today such as equality before the law, freedom of speech, right to a private property and many more (Doyle, Liberal Internationalism: Peace, War and Democracy, 1997). Therefore, there are barely any disputes between first world countries which embrace democracy and liberalism as the main doctrine of their governance. This essay argues about the impact of democracy towards peace and how comes peace is embraced successfully among the representatives of democracy. Following paragraphs briefly explain liberalism’s role in today’s world and society, how liberalism reflects in business, what...
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...| John Locke | The father of modern liberalism | | Cole Davis | 5/20/2012 | | Liberalism, a political ideology based on the belief that constant progress is achievable, the human race is composed of intrinsically good beings, and that these intrinsically good beings are and should be autonomous in nature, is an idea that made an incredible resurgence during the English enlightenment. As the belief of Liberalism gained popularity with the public it also developed an enormous following among European philosophers. John Locke, the individual responsible for the idea of natural rights as well as the social compact, helped mold this idea of Liberalism into its own unique philosophical tradition. Because of these great contributions, John Locke is considered as father of modern liberalism. Born August 29, 1632 at Wrington in Somerset, John Locke was the son of a lawyer and the oldest child of his Puritan household (Locke, Berkeley, Hume). While Locke was a child, his father closely monitored and guided his education. An incredibly educated individual, Locke first received a formal education at Westminster School eventually graduating to Christ Church, Oxford (Collinson). After receiving his bachelors of arts in 1656, Locke stayed at Oxford to earn his master’s degree. Locke became the censor of moral philosophy in 1664 and in 1675 when the Earl of Shaftesbury fell from power; Locke exiled himself to France to restore his health (Locke, Berkeley, Hume). After four...
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...Debate Prep Against the motion: Modern liberalism has moved too far away from the ideas of classical liberalism? Both classical and modern liberals believe that the individual is a building block of society and that each person is different and thus had different strengths and weaknesses. J. S. Mill implied the nature of humankind as a diverse species should be viewed as a strength. The idea of Freedom and protection of individual rights is also common of both strands. These beliefs stem from the Enlightenment theory that individuals are distinct and valuable, with John Locke defines our (God-given) natural rights as "Life, liberty and property". Immanuel Kant views humans as "ends in themselves", implying that and he makes two implications; that individuals are unique, and that they share the same equal status. The general liberal view is that people should have the freedom to do what they want; to live and work and say what they wish. This is not absolute and Mill says in is essay 'On Liberty' that the "only purpose for which power can be rightfully exercised over any member of civilized community against his will, is to prevent harm to others." This view only accepted minimal restrictions to prevent this and thus did not accept self-harm preventing restrictions that are apparent today such as cycle helmet or seatbelt laws. Isiah Berlin explains that there are two "different concepts of Liberty": 'negative', which typically reflects an earlier time period...
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...Edexcel A2 Political Ideologies 1 Liberalism A Short-answer questions 1 Distinguish between economic liberalism and social liberalism. • Economic liberalism means both classical liberalism and neo-liberal economic theory. • Its core idea is the notion of the self-regulating market, based on Adam Smith’s ‘invisible hand’ and the belief that the market tends towards long-term equilibrium. • Individuals are seen as rational, self-interested and largely self-sufficient; and market competition ensures choice and consumer responsiveness as well as efficiency and growth. • In line with the principle of laissez-faire, the state should leave the economy alone because state intervention is likely to have more economic disadvantages than advantages. • Economic liberalism is associated with negative freedom. • Social liberalism, by contrast, is modern liberalism, also sometimes known as welfare liberalism, associated with the belief that an unregulated market economy results in an unequal and unfair distribution of wealth. • The state, therefore, has important social responsibilities, especially in safeguarding individuals from the social evils that can cripple their existence: poverty, disease, unemployment etc. • Social liberalism is thus linked to a qualified form of welfarism: the desire to help people to help themselves, thus still reflecting a general liberal preference for self-reliance. • Social liberalism is associated with positive freedom...
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...School of Government FCOM 111 Trimester 1, 2014 Government Essay Cover Sheet Instructions Please complete and sign this form and attach it as the cover page to your assignment. Student Name (Please print): | | Student ID No: | | Tutor Name: | | Tutorial Day and Time: | | Due Date: | Monday 31 March 2014 at 1:00 p.m. | Date Submitted: | | Word Count: | | Plagiarism Declaration Plagiarism is a form of cheating which undermines academic integrity. Plagiarism is prohibited at Victoria. Plagiarism is presenting (without due acknowledgement) someone else’s work as if it were your own, whether you mean to or not. Plagiarism takes many forms and includes material from books, journals or any other printed source, the work of other students or staff, information from the internet and other electronic material. You are expected to adhere to the VUW Statute on Student Conduct and its references to plagiarism. The Statute may be assessed at http://www.victoria.ac.nz/home/about /policy/students.aspx. I have read and understood the University’s policy on plagiarism outlined as above and declare that this Government Essay is my own work and that all source material used in this essay is accurately acknowledged. Signed: ___________________________ Date: ____________________ Political ideologies are vague and not as regimented and defined throughout New Zealand politics. An ideology represents political philosophies, views, core principles...
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...Doxastic Dilemma The debate between doxastic conservatism and doxastic liberalism has been a topic of controversy for quite some time. Two prominent figures in this respect are William Clifford whose support of doxastic conservatism is outlined in The Ethics of Belief and William James, who defend doxastic liberalism in his work The Will to Believe. Personally, I find Clifford’s position resonates better with my own process of accepting and discarding beliefs, however it is important to note that by saying this I am not rejecting the virtues of doxastic liberalism. Quite the contrary, I do believe that in some instances a liberal attitude can prove worthwhile, I simply find James’ reasons for applying a liberal attitude to be rather problematic. A discussion on whether or not James’ reasons for applying doxastic liberalism may go beyond the scope of this paper, so any such inquiry into this matter will be kept to a minimum. In his defense of doxastic conservatism Clifford offers the following argument: Before accepting a belief, we must ensure that there is sufficient evidence which supports said belief (1,5,10). If after examining the available evidence, we find that it does not support the belief, than that belief must be discarded (2-4). Additionally, there are instances where a belief “goes beyond our experience” and can be accepted based on inferences of similar experiences, assuming that the inference is drawn logically from reliable...
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...Zeitz underlines the conjuncture between innovation and tradition in his essay The Roaring Twenties. Although major religious conflicts erupted, giving the conservatives a win, the 1920’s were a decade of liberalism because of backlash from government control and advancements in media A major disagreement between church and education was the John Scopes trial (aka the monkey trial.) In 1925, the Butler Act was passed to end the teaching of anything that goes against biblical teachings. That same year, John Scopes was challenged by peers to violate the anti-evolution law and teach Charles Darwin’s Theory of Evolution to his class. A Duke University Article, by Christopher Armstrong and Grant Wacker, entitled The Scopes Trial states that “Resistance grew especially acute when such conservatives saw their sons and daughters going off to college and, faced with teachings that contradicted their parents' beliefs, seemed to lose their faith entirely.” This reveals the parent’s conservative fears of a radically different America where there would be diversity amongst religions. Adding on to conservative victory, Zeitz claims that the conservatives were nowhere near close to being beat. Zeits states in his essay that after their court victory,...
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...Gandhian liberalism M. K. Gandhi (1869-1948) requires no introduction even to the layman. “The Father of the Nation”,”Bapu”, and numerous other honorifics have long been affectionately applied to him by the citizens of India. His appearance on the Indian political scene in 1915 changed the face of Indian liberalism and made him the most influential and prominent liberal in India and I aim to shed more light on his theory of liberalism in this section of the essay. Gandhi acknowledged Gopal Krishna Gokhale as his political mentor. He took Gokhale’s strict liberal position and adapted it to fit what he believed to be India’s needs. The most radical departure was that Gandhi believed that the only way to ensure the British acceded to Indian demands was by non-violent protest or what he termed “Satyagraha”, unlike the traditional liberal who strictly adhered to the system and never attempted to work against it. Simply put, the liberals that preceded Gandhi such as Gokhale and Ranade were heavily shaped by western liberal movements and the British Whigs while he was able to provide Indian liberalism with its own distinct ideas. Gandhi heavily emphasised features of negative liberty in his agenda for the political, social and economic transformation of India. He favoured a government which was minimalistic in nature and occupied itself with maintaining law and order. He strongly believed in the maximum freedom of the individual as well. One distinctive feature of his thinking was...
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...William Feola Topic 4 Essay 2/23/2016 In the middle of the nineteenth century, European societies were going through tremendous changes due to politicization of the ordinary, helped by the French Revolution, and the Industrial Revolution. During these changes and challenges, intellectuals and political activists proposed different approaches to making society function better. Different bodies of thoughts were proposed and political organizations that supported different ideologies were created. These groups and organizations stemmed from liberalism, feminism, romanticism and Social Darwinism. These groups, the liberalists, feminists, romanticists and the Social Darwinists, had to try to cope with the rapid modernization of the west precipitated by the Industrial Revolution. In this essay we are going to talk about how each group was able to cope with the rapid modernization and how they were able to face the changes and challenges. First of all, we saw liberalism try to cope with the rapid modernization of the west precipitated by the Industrial Revolution. These liberals thought that human life and society could progress without having violent revolutions or relying on tradition. Non-violent approaches to changing society is called liberalism. The liberals during the time of the Industrial Revolution believed that individuals had the power to reason and that they are rational. In other words, it means they are capable of bettering themselves without destroying the...
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...The view of human nature and the role of the state: Human nature is difficult to define but can be summed up as the innate characteristics and traits that all human beings are born with, which is free from culture influence. What these characteristics and traits are, is often cause for debate as it is a general belief that these should apply to everyone. However the problem lies in the fact that no two humans are the same therefore reaching a unanimous decision on what human nature is, is near enough impossible. Over the years three ideologies have emerged as the leading theories on human nature; conservatism, classical liberalism and Marxism. The three have their own differing views on what the basis of human nature is. These ideologies have evolved into political parties and their policies are largely influenced by their views on human nature. This essay will look into the three ideologies, their beliefs on human nature and how this affects their view on the role of the state. The state is a sovereign entity within a clearly defined region which has monopoly of violence, thus holding the ability to create peace or war. Views on the state, in terms of its function and involvement in society, stems largely from ones ideas on human nature. The conservative view on human nature is quite pessimistic. Conservatism is largely based around the theories of Thomas Hobbes who developed these theories around the time of a civil war in the 17th century. This could possibly explain the...
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